Cameroon and Nigeria have begun seeking ways to collaborate to fight corruption in both countries, according to officials of Cameroon’s anti-graft body on Wednesday.
Officials of National Anti-Corruption Commission and Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, met in the capital Yaounde on Wednesday to lay down the guidelines for the collaboration.
“Our coming here is to canvass for greater understanding in terms of relationship, exchange of ideas and information,” Mohammed Umar, EFCC’s Director of Operations, said.
“Corruption is not a problem of one country but all countries in Africa and we appreciate the cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria,” CONAC Chair, Dieudonne Gams said.
Transfer of illicit funds within Cameroon-Nigeria borders is on the rise and there is an urgent need to track down the funds and arrests offenders, the officials said.
Umar said: “The joint operations can help us to recover lot of looted funds.”
The collaboration is the first of its kind between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Several thousands of people have fled a violent attack on a town in north-eastern Nigeria and sought refuge in neighbouring Cameroon, Doctors Without Borders said on Wednesday.
About 8,000 refugees fled to the border town of Bodo in Cameroon after an attack on the town of Rann on Jan. 14, according to the medical aid organisation.
“We expect several thousand more may come today. We are preparing to assist 15,000 people with food, water and medical care over the coming days,” said MSF Nigeria Programme Manager, Hugues Robert.
Among the refugees were many children as well as breastfeeding and pregnant women, the organisation said.
The attackers had burnt many homes in Rann, destroyed the market as well as food stores and looted and burnt the MSF warehouse, office and pharmacy.
Rann is a hub for humanitarian aid in north-eastern Nigeria where tens of thousands of people have fled over the past years to seek refuge from terrorist group Boko Haram.
The group poses a steady threat to communities in the north-east of Nigeria and has also launched offensives in neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
Since 2009, tens of thousands of people have died at the hands of the Sunni fundamentalists in the region and an estimated 2.5 million people fled their homes.
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